1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a crimp terminal that is attached by crimping to an exposed core at the end of a coated wire.
2. Description of the Related Art
Crimp terminals have been employed widely with coated wires in the electrical systems of cars and the like and are attached by being crimped to an exposed core at the terminal of the coated wire. JP 5-31130A discloses one such crimp terminal that has a connecting portion, a crimp portion and a link extending therebetween. The connection portion has a conductive member, such as a metal, that is connected conductively to an electrical connection target. The crimp portion has a core crimping portion that is fixed by crimping to an outer peripheral surface of the core of the coated wire. The section of the crimp terminal attached to the coated wire often should be waterproof. Thus, a covering cylindrical body may be mounted over a peripheral region that includes the crimp portion. The covering cylindrical body may be a heat shrinkable tube containing hot-melt adhesive. The tube may be mounted over a peripheral region that includes the crimp portion. Heat then is applied to shrink the tube and to melt the adhesive. Alternatively, a peripheral region of the crimp portion may be sealed by a cylindrical molded component made of a synthetic resin.
The core must contact the crimp portion over a sufficient area to ensure reliable conduction between the crimp terminal and the core. Also, the covering cylindrical body must reliably cover the crimp portion and the core to ensure waterproofness of the crimp portion. Accordingly, JP 5-31130A proposes forming a large notch in a central section of the link between the connecting portion and the crimp portion, and an upstanding protuberance is formed by bending up the notched section on the side on which the crimp portion protrudes. The core is inserted into the crimp portion until the core abuts the upstanding protuberance, thereby ensuring sufficient contact points between the crimp portion and the core of the coated wire. Also, the covering cylindrical body is moved to a position beyond the upstanding protuberance so that the crimp portion and the core can be covered reliably with the covering cylindrical body. The engagement of the upstanding protuberance and the covering cylindrical body prevents the covering cylindrical body from coming loose and sliding back to expose the core to the outside due to vibrations, heat during vehicle installation, and the like.
An external force caused by vibrations or interference with other members will concentrate on the link between the connecting portion, which is the fixing point to the connection target, and the crimp portion, which is the fixing point to the coated wire. These external forces may apply a large bending force to the link. However, a large notch is provided in the link to form the upstanding protuberance. As a result, the connecting portion and the crimp portion are connected merely by edges of the link. Hence, the link may not have sufficient rigidity, thereby leading to problems, such as durability deterioration and breakage of the link.
Several crimp terminals may have to be stacked on a single terminal bolt. However, the upstanding protuberances and the crimping portions protrude on the same side and will interfere with one another in the stacking direction when the crimp terminals are stacked on a terminal bolt. Hence, the number of electrical wires with attached crimp terminals that can be mounted on a single terminal bolt has been restricted.
The invention was made in view of the preceding circumstances, and an object of thereof is to ease positioning a core and a covering cylindrical body on a crimp terminal, to prevent a position shift of the covering cylindrical body and to ensure rigidity of a link and to improve mounting flexibility on a terminal bolt.